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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. XII
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
ANNIVERSARY
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Templeton Hills Community Farm Prepares for First Anniversary Celebration By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com TEMPLETON — Templeton Hills Community Farm will be celebrating its First Anniversary on Sunday, Apr. 18. Members of the farm invite everyone to join them for a farm tour, refreshments, and fresh produce as they celebrate one year of impacting their community. Open to all members of the community, the farm is located between the Templeton Hills Seventh-Day Adventist Church and school. The farm opened in March 2020, right at the start of the pandemic. But despite lockdowns, the farm managed to more than double their crop production within one year. Pastor Zac Page of the Templeton Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church said, “During these difficult times when people have been feeling socially isolated, the farm has become a place for people of all ages to connect in a safe outdoor environment.” Since the farm opened to the public, it has gained another hoop house, and more plans are in the works for expansion. A washing system for produce and a storage container for root vegetables like potatoes and garlic is something the farm is looking forward to. There are even plans to begin hosting classes at the farm. Matt Giese and his wife hope to plan cooking and gardening classes at the farm, but the possibilities are endless. Giese works as the farm manager as well as the groundskeeper for the school and church. “Some people come to learn, others are experts who want to be involved in something bigger, and still others just come to enjoy fresh naturally grown local produce,” said Page. The farm has become a place for families to spend quality time together, and children are safe to roam around freely and learn how to grow their own food. Page says, “We hear parents saying things like, ‘For the first CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SPORTS
Virtual Egg Hunt Brings Community Together for the Second Year
Paso Robles Wine County Alliance (PRWCA) and wineries throughout the area celebrated Vintage Paso Weekend on Mar. 19 through the 21. Contributed Photos
Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Celebrates Successful ‘Vintage Paso’
Over 100 wineries participated in the COVID-friendly event, welcoming visitors back safely By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
P
aso Robles Wine Country Alliance (PRWCA) celebrated their Vintage Paso: Zinfandel weekend on Mar. 19 through the 21. More than 100 wineries participated in the newly designed and COVID-friendly event.
In previous years, PRWCA hosted a single marquee event featuring Paso Robles Zinfandel wines with indoor wine tasting, food, and music. Due to COVID restrictions on large indoor gatherings, PRWCA had to change things up a bit. Vintage Paso: Zinfandel has been taking place since 2014 and was previously known as the Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival. However, the PRWCA has been hosting a Zinfandel-themed festival on the third weekend of March since 1992. Instead of hosting one single event, Vintage Paso was spread across three days,
night, his second coming as the Eagles’ lone goal in the second half. Up 1-0, Templeton battled with Atascadero for much of the
TEMPLETON — Last Easter, in lieu of COVID lockdowns, some Templeton residents started a virtual egg hunt, resulting in an international phenomenon. With the help of friends in the community, Shauna Soltero brought the idea of a virtual egg hunt to life. Originally, Soltero thought the hunt would only reach North County. To her surprise, eggs were found in 2,096 locations, including 43 states and 16 countries. This year, as of Mar. 30, there are a total of 193 entries in 17 states and four countries and counting. “It’s so beautiful to see the smiles on people’s faces and everybody getting involved. I love that about our community in general,” said Soltero. Soltero originally came up with the egg hunt idea to cheer up children who were missing out on their traditional Easter egg hunts, which were canceled along with all other social activities. Unintentionally, the egg decorating and virtual hunt became more than just for the children. It was bringing people young and old together from all over the world and did it safely. Last year, both the Atascadero and Paso Robles Police Departments got involved, posting photos of their officers with some eggs they found. When it comes to making eggs, creativity is endless. People have made their eggs from wood, quilts, cardboard, pallets, and the possibilities are endless. According to Soltero, eggs began to pop up the second to last week of March. Within one week, she added 1,000 people to the egg hunt’s Facebook page, which currently has a total of 9.3K followers.
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with wineries hosting their own outdoor events while still adhering to county and state health guidelines. “By hosting individual, smaller scale and more intimate events, they were able to welcome visitors safely back into wine country. The weekend weather was spectacular and allowed for visitors to be outdoors and socially separated. Wineries provided some entertainment and food options through the weekend to visitors who were mostly welcomed by reservation only,” said Chris CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
PREP SPORTS
Atascadero, Templeton Tie 4-4 in Season Opener By CONNOR ALLEN ways on us a little bit, and we connor@atascaderonews.com ended up tying 4-4. It was quite ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Greyhounds and Templeton Eagles boys soccer teams opened their 2021 season on Tuesday night in a league matchup against one another. Tuesday night’s game was the first boys soccer game in the North County this year and was a nonstop firework display as there were four goals scored in both halves of the game, including one in the very first minute of play. Tuesday’s game was truly a tale of two halves as Templeton controlled the first 40 minutes, putting three goals in the back of the net, while the Greyhounds came charging back in the second half with three goals of their own. Due to the delayed, condensed season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, each team entered their first game of the season, a league contest, with only two weeks of practice and no scrimmages to some sloppy play as expected. “The game kind of went side-
COMMUNITY
a game; I always love playing Atascadero. We were up 3-0 with about 30 seconds to go in the first half, and we gave up a goal and ended up at 3-1. In the second half, well, they scored three, and we scored another one,” Templeton’s head coach Dale Wiggins told the Atascadero News. “We have been at it for the last two weeks, and one of the big differences this year, as compared to other seasons, is that we don’t have any preseason games before our first league game. We normally would have had three scrimmages. As a team and as a coach, it gives you time to figure out players and gives them a chance to learn our playing style, but without that, we were learning on the field.” While the Eagles had very little time to learn to play together, you would not have been able to tell by their first-half performance. Forty-five seconds after the referee blew his whistle to begin the match, Templeton was already
COVID-19 UPDATE
Atascadero and Templeton opened their seasons against each other on March 23. Photos by Connor Allen
on the board thanks to a 35-yard missile off the foot of junior Gabe Soltero. Soltero flashed all over the field for Templeton and proved that he is an impact player, scoring not one but two goals on Tuesday
AGRICULTURE
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
atascaderonews.com
WEATHER
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